Why the froth over Surly? Brewery project draws broad interest

Economic development officials insist they are not wearing beer goggles as they try to woo the $20 million, 60,000-square-foot brewery and beer garden that the Surly Brewing Co. would like to build in the Twin Cities.

“Dozens” of metro area cities have already submitted information to the Minneapolis-based Tegra Group, which Brooklyn Center-based Surly tapped in August to advise on the project, said Tom Hauschild, a partner at Tegra.

Surly and Tegra officials hope to focus on a handful of sites within 30 days.

In general, city officials insist the proposed brewery goes beyond the dozens of jobs or added tax base it might create. They say it would add cachet and enhance the quality of life in their communities.

“It’s very much a destination location. … It would bring so many people to Elk River,” said Annie Deckert, Elk River’s economic development director, who is researching locations there to pitch to Surly and Tegra.

Hauschild says he and Surly president and founder Omar Ansari have been surprised by the interest. Hauschild attributes it to Surly’s enthusiastic customers, the so-called Surly Nation, who successfully lobbied to change state law to allow breweries to sell pints on site. Now they are reaching out to local officials to tout the proposed brewery. “City administrators are listening to them and responding,” Hauschild said.

Surly has a profitable business selling beers ranging from its hops-heavy Furious beer to the lighter CynicAle. Revenue has grown from $250,000 in 2006, its first full year of operations, to $4.7 million in 2010. Demand has outstripped production, and Surly has stopped selling its products in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Illinois to concentrate on its Twin Cities turf.

The new brewery would be Surly’s second; its existing 24,000-square-foot facility is at 4811 Dusharme Drive in Brooklyn Center.

Surly’s plans have inspired Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak to wax on about how his great-grandfather brewed beer in New Prague, with the mayor arguing that Surly needs to build along the Mississippi River north of downtown.

Dozens of Twin Cities communities would like to see Surly beer rolling off the assembly line, just as they do at the beer maker’s 24,000-square-foot facility at 4811 Dusharme Drive in Brooklyn Center. Surly is proposing spending $20 million on a second metro area brewery that would include a beer garden. (Submitted photo: Surly Brewing Co.)

Minneapolis has yet to make a former proposal to Surly. But Cathy Polasky, the city’s economic development director, acknowledges that it would be an attractive business for the city because it would provide some well-paying manufacturing jobs as well as another “cool gathering place.”

Polasky also mentioned the city has done a great deal to encourage local food and beer. “This fits right into the sweet spot for Minneapolis’ economic development,” she said.

St. Paul officials have already toured a handful of sites with Surly and Tegra officials, said city spokeswoman Janelle Tummel. Specifically, the St. Paul Port Authority has pitched its Beacon Bluff and River Bend projects, which are both redeveloping old industrial sites in the city. Surly might potentially secure a $1-for-land deal not too different from the Port Authority land deal in the late 1990s that resulted in Summit Brewing building a brewery on a 4.2-acre site in the Crosby Lake Business Park.

Summit, with 56 well-paying jobs, is a great asset to St. Paul, and Surly could be, too, said Port Authority President Louis Jambois. “We are always looking for ways to diversify St. Paul’s economy,” he said.

In Chaska, city administrator Matt Podhradsky sees a potential use for the 12-acre Chaska Building Center lumberyard on the edge of downtown, at 2970 Chaska Blvd., that closed three years ago. Meanwhile, Brooklyn Center’s city administrator Curt Boganey has staff looking for potential sites to propose to Surly in the hopes of keeping it all in the city.

Twin Cities officials aren’t alone, either, in their mania for beer. If Lake Superior Brewing Co. ever proposed building a new brewery and beer garden in either Duluth or Superior, Wis., Duluth’s economic development chief, Brian Hanson, says he would also be working hard to make sure Duluth won the business.

“Not only do they manufacture, but they’re a tourist attraction,” Hanson said.

Anthony Figliola, a New York-based consultant who helps large companies find new locations around the country, has found that breweries are an attractive option for a community in any economic climate.

“Beer and baseball — that’s America right there,” Figliola said. “There’s a cachet with having a company like that.”

Nicollet Island, across from the Nicollet Island Inn I think would be a great location. Also since it is so close to the river, maybe developing boat tours in conjunction with the brewery tours?? I think it would be a great tourist destination as well as a local favorite. Plus you would have the downtown skyline, the stone arch, the river and the Hennepin Ave bridge as scenery. It would be ideal for people as well if they wanted to bar hop. It could be a linking point between downtown and Northeast. I am not sure of the zoning on Nicollet island, but if it was possible I think it would add a lot of tourism to Minneapolis.

Echoing the others on here, it needs to be in the city, or very close in suburbs like Brooklyn Center or St. Paul (yeah, I said it). Personally I’d like to see a site along the river in North or Northeast. North Minneapolis desperately needs good-paying jobs and this would help spur redevelopment in the area. It would also draw new people into the community and show them that the northside isn’t as scary as the 10:00 news makes it out to be.